"It's lights out and away we go"
My eyes zero in on the race track in front of me. The cars, neatly lined up in a parallel line which forms the grid, launch like rocket ships. Their engines roar, deafeningly, hungry for Victory. The whole spectacle gives me goosebumps, the anticipation of what the laps ahead may hold putting me on edge.
Surprisingly, the over-arching emotion in the pit of my stomach is nervousness. I myself am not driving, and I don't have any relation to any of the drivers, and yet I hope for their safety. The cars zoom past, a lap completed.
I see the two Ferraris, Charles in second place and Carlos in fifth. There's a small margin between Charles and the Race Leader, Max Verstappen, and for a moment as they break into a corner my stomach drops, their proximity uncomfortably close.
"Charles is gonna get him on the next lap" Seb states, speaking to no one in particular. I turn my gaze to the screen, watching the graphic which indicates the distance between the cars and whether they have DRS or not. Sebastian is right - Charles is within a second of Max, and is the fastest on the grid.
I hear the roar of the engines approaching us once more. The cars come into view, cruising down the main straight, and I see Charles making a lunge around Verstappen. The crowd cheers, but he doesn't quite make it, and the cars disappear out of view again.
"God, this is so intense" Lydia laughs, walking towards the bar to top up her champagne flute. I feel physically sick with nerves, my heart beating in my chest like the seconds on a stopwatch.
Once more the cars approach, and the audience around us draws a breath in unison. Charles' speed is far greater than Max's, and he makes a lunge once more as they go into a turn.
The audience goes silent.
A red flag displays on the monitor, both Charles and Max's names dropping to the bottom of the visual display.
"The Leclerc Monaco curse continues" Sebastian sighs, hanging his head in defeat.
Minutes later...
"Fucking break failure! I couldn't stop, we were so close and I couldn't stop." I hear Charles exclaiming at his engineers from above the Ferrari pits. His breaks had failed and as he lunged into the corner he had ploughed directly into Verstappen, taking them both out of the race. Whilst I didn't know Max and didn't like Charles, I felt heartbroken for the both of them. So much hard work gone, in seconds, and especially at your home Grand Prix.
The race was somewhat uneventful henceforth, with Mclaren's Daniel Ricciardo securing a surprising victory as Hamilton came second, Carlos trailing in third. I was ecstatic for him - the joy was visible on his face as he jumped out of the car, running over to his engineers.
However, the mood in the Ferrari pits was sombre. Their star boy, Charles Leclerc, had failed to finish the Monaco Grand Prix once more. I felt bad for Carlos, his podium diminished by Charles' misfortune.
"Well done Carlos!" I beam as he walks towards us, pulling each of us into a hug. "Completely deserved mate. Great drive." Sebastian echoes. "Thank you, thank you. It is a shame about Charles though, I expect he will have to give big apology to Max." Carlos shakes his head, though the smile remains on his face.
We walk towards the crowd which is slowly walking towards the podium. Sebastian puts his arm around me, guiding me through the crowd as Lydia leads the way in front of us. As we near the sea of red, my eyes lock with Charles'.
As I've mentioned, whilst I may dislike him, I do feel bad for him. The corners of my mouth turn down as I mouth sorry in his direction. His eyes scan my face and body, eventually resting on Sebastian's arm around me as he rolls his eyes in response.
Shaking my head, I avert my gaze towards the podium. They announce Carlos' name, and he jumps out waving at us in jubilation. I feel tears pricking in my eyes, as although I don't know him particularly well, I can't help but feel inexplicably proud of him.
Next, Hamilton enters the stage as all of his engineers cheer. Finally, Daniel Ricciardo, the unexpected victor, enters the podium.
"Oh my fucking God." Lydia and I whisper in unison, looking at each other in shock.
"That's..." Lydia begins, at a loss for words. I start laughing, the shock absorbing my body. "No fucking way." I reply, taking her hand as she looks as though she may faint. Seb looks at us both, a look of deep confusion on his face.
"You... got with... and F1 driver." I struggle to speak, laughter and shock consuming me. Lydia doesn't move, her mouth open in shock as her eyes remain transfixed on Daniel Ricciardo.
"Oh." Seb whispers, a weird emotion crossing his face which I can't quite discern. If I didn't know any better, I'd describe it as jealousy, but we're talking about Seb and Lydia here.
My gaze returns to Daniel and his large smile. He lifts his trophy, a sea of people in orange cheering in response, and the Champagne ceremony begins. People around us start chanting 'Shoey', and we promptly join in.
I look at Charles. A PR lady is whispering in his ear, causing him to promptly begin sauntering in our direction. I sigh under my breath, the scowl plastered across his face causing me to grow nervous.
"I hope you enjoyed the race." He states as he finally reaches us, his gaze transfixed on Seb and Lydia as he all but ignores me. "So sorry about the outcome mate." Seb offers him some condolence, oblivious to the awkward tension in the air. "It happens. We got some data though so the next race is looking promising." Charles responds, smiling softly at my companions.
Appearing to be a man of little words, Charles turns away. As he begins to walk towards the pits, his head down, my chest brims with a sudden pang of confidence. I follow him, catching up as he reaches the entrance to his garage.
"Look, I feel awful about the pasta, but there's no need to be such a dick-" I begin, but he cuts me off. "Are you trying to make my day even worse? Trying to cause a scene, in the paddock, in front of cameras? You want five minutes of fame eh?" He barks.
My jaw drops, taken aback by his words. Fame was something I never vied for, it was never something I cared for. His words stung, my want to reach a resolution with the attractive Monegasque disappearing as quickly as it came.
"What the fuc-" I begin to respond but am greeted with his back as he turns to walk away from me. I sigh in frustration, turning on my heel as I return to a confused looking Sebastian and an intrigued Lydia.
"What a dick. Lyds, isn't there a party tonight? That George guy invited us remember? I'm gonna get so drunk" I state, my eyes narrowing.
It's time for some alcohol to help fix the ego.
a/n -
hi lovers
I'm going away soon so there won't be any updates for a few days - just thought I'd give u a heads up so u don't lose interest in the continuation of this story :)
drop a comment if you enjoyed, and a cheeky vote too :P
love Xx
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Bonne Nuit// Charles Leclerc
Fanfiction"The world I have stepped into is a crazy one, of wealth and power, where no one questions what you do or who you're with because they know you can pay for the damages" As Lila travels the south of France with her best friend Lydia, she is forced t...
